China's exports rise 7.2 pct in August

China's exports rose 7.2 percent year on year to 190.61 billion U.S. dollars in August, according to customs figures released on Sunday.

The growth rate was 2.1 percentage points higher than July.

Imports also rose last month, gaining 7 percent to 162.09 billion U.S. dollars, the General Administration of Customs said in a statement.

Total foreign trade grew 7.1 percent in August over the same month in 2012 to 352.7 billion U.S. dollars, said the statement.

Trade surplus widened by 8.4 percent year on year to 28.52 billion U.S. dollars last month, the highest since January this year.

Zhang Liqun, a researcher at the Development Research Center of the State Council, said the improvement in exports was related to a stable yuan and government policies.

Chinese authorities have exempted all outbound goods, transport vehicles and containers from inspection and quarantine fees from Aug. 1 to Dec. 31 this year.

Meanwhile, the government has pledged consistency and stability of its macroeconomic policies. Added to this, there has been a proactive fiscal policy and a prudent monetary policy, according to the State Council's report delivered to a plenary meeting of the National People's Congress Standing Committee last Wednesday.

"The 7.2-percent growth rate indicates a clear recovery of exports," said Zhang.

In August, imports and exports with the European Union, China's largest trade partner, rose 3.2 percent, while that with the United States, China's second-largest trade partner, rose 9.2 percent.

Mei Xinyu, a foreign trade expert at the Ministry of Commerce, said that European and U.S. economies recovered with increasing demand, while Chinese companies were given an extra competitive edge by macro stability at home.

Sunday's data showed that exports of electronics and machinery products grew by 6.7 percent to reach 106.45 billion U.S. dollars in August, accounting for 55.9 percent of total exports.

China's manufacturing sector saw a strong recovery last month, offering further signs that the world's second-largest economy is moving out of the shadows of a protracted slowdown.

Data from China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing showed that the sub-index for new export orders in August jumped to a 16-month high of 52.4 percent, which is convincing evidence of a strong recovery.

Zhang said exports are expected to improve slightly in the second half and the annual growth of foreign trade would remain roughly flat compared to 2012.

The country set the target to achieve an 8-percent increase in foreign trade this year. Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng has expressed confidence in meeting the aim.

The foreign trade data came just before the inflation figure.

China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, is expected to see slower growth in August, as shown by a survey conducted by Xinhua.

The average forecast for CPI growth last month was 2.6 percent, down from July's 2.7 percent increase.

The National Bureau of Statistics is set to release August inflation data on Monday.